Drones to feature at Royal Highland Show as thousands set to attend

Royal Highland Show, Ingliston: The Cattle are paraded in the main show ring.
Picture Ian Rutherford — Royal Highland Show, Ingliston: The Cattle are paraded in the main show ring. Picture Ian Rutherford

Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to Ingliston for the 179th edition of the Royal Highland Show, with more than 6,000 animals set to go on display to the public.

The event, which attracts attendees from across Europe, will see dozens of vendors exhibit the best in rural produce.

However this year some of the stars of the show will be in the sky as vendors aim to explore the role of drones in the future of farming.

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) hope to change the public perception of the technology after a number of incidents involving drones saw hundreds of aircraft grounded at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports.

SRUC student Simon Gibson-Poole will give an overview of how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to aid crop production through disease detection.

Visitors will get the opportunity to test out the technology in a special meshed off area of the event, while a virtual reality simulation will also be available to try.

Simon said: “Out of the box, these drones can help speed up field walking due to the bird’s eye view they bring – reducing crop impact in the process be used to inspect farm infrastructure, such as roofs and silos, that is difficult to get to help identify the location of field drains and even round up livestock.”

Around 190,000 people are expected to attend the event over the four days.

Organisers are advising visitors to plan their visit to take in the regular highlights including the Grand Parade and show jumping as well as new attractions for 2019, featuring the ‘Shindig at the Show’ which will see an ttempt to dance the largest ever Eightsome Reel to music by The Voice winner Steve McCrorie.

Tickets are available online at a special discounted rate until Wednesday, June 19.